The Police News
Editorial: Outpouring of HPD support by Houstonians Continues to be more obvious than ever before

by Tom Kennedy

EDITORIAL: Houston Police Officer's Union

IT SHOULD BE MORALE-UPLIFTING TO HOUSTON POLICE OFFICERS that an
obviously growing number of Houstonians and Houston businesses are being
so demonstrative in their ongoing support.

As we know from daily news coverage, this encouraging condition is
not always the case in America’s big-city police/community
relationships. In Houston we are STRONG in working with community
leaders everywhere, a growing practice that has seemed to intensify over
the years.

At no time in recent history has this positive working relationship
been more apparent than during the intensive workload burdened by HPD
officers in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Instead of stepping back
and dodging the challenges, Houston citizens stepped forward and shared
the burden in many, many ways.

Last month the Badge & Gun published a Thank You list of helping
hands from Houston area restaurants, fast food outlets, food supply
companies and other businesses that graciously provided three meals a
day for many officers. We have found that that number grows by the day.

The “feeding effort” required for the Perez family’s Celebration of
Life for Sgt. Steve Perez on the day of the brave officer’s memorial
service drew many new participants in the seemingly endless waive of
help for HPD personnel. The story of that effort is in this issue.

Yet another show of appreciation and devotion also is amplified in
another story herewith. Hurricane Harvey showed no mercy for the Houston
Police Memorial on Memorial Drive just down the road from HPOU
headquarters. The muck, the silt and the rubbish marring the sacredness
of this great monument posed a difficult and costly challenge for any
clean-up crew.

Then came the tireless volunteers from the Buffalo Bayou Partnership,
whose bailiwick stretches from Shepherd Drive to the Port of Houston.
That readily includes the Police Memorial. Volunteer coordinator Leticia
Sierra amassed her troops and got to work as soon as they had a
clean-up plan ready. Sierra craftily coordinated 327 individuals who
volunteered almost 1,000 hours of manual labor to restore the memorial
to its natural glories.

Thank you Buffalo Bayou Partnership!

Let it never be said that Houstonians don’t step forward for the
police officers who often risk their lives – as did Sgt. Perez – to
preserve and protect their freedom. Their show of appreciation and
dedication has become obvious and continues to grow – which is a good
situation to be in.